Introduction

We should value communion as something extremely special. It is very important in the Christian life. Jesus gave two simple commands: be baptized and take communion. These ordinances token our obedience, our commitment to obey Him and receive His teaching.

That valuation should spill over into how we prepare for it. As for any Lord's Day, we should so value the day and the sacrament of communion at the Lord's Table on the Lord's Day that we get sufficient rest the night before and come with anticipation borne along by heart preparation (gearing up in mind). Being alert and sanctifying the day are good ways to prepare. This is part of arming ourselves for spiritual battle remembering that the battle has an internal front with sin in our lives as well as with enemies external to us.

To be specific, this means calling the day what it is: the Sabbath, the Lord's Day, and delight day! It means approaching communion to hear the voice of God in sign and seal with special attention to reflection and meditation, to remembering the Lord Jesus Christ.

To do this today I direct your attention to communion as "A Kingdom Feast Now and Not Yet." Because of the kingdom theme found within the institution passages, we will follow this outline. 1) The kingdom is present as well as future. 2) So, our king has a feast for us now looking to the not yet. And 3) Thus we feast in submission to our prophet, priest and king.

1A. The kingdom is present as well as future.

1) You can hear the future reference in all the Gospel accounts. Let's look at each text and note some of the variations of language that fill out the picture for us (the last three texts do not mention the kingdom). The underlining below identifies the kingdom references and the italics indicate some of the variations:

NIV Luke 22:14 When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. 15 And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God." 17 After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among you. 18 For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." 19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." 20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

NIV Mark 14:22 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take it; this is my body." 23 Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many," he said to them. 25 "I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God." 26 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

NIV Matthew 26:26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body." 27 Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom." 30 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

NIV John 17:24 "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world."

NIV 1 Corinthians 11:23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

1 Corinthians 10:16 Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.

A future of the kingdom is evident: there is a day out in front of us in which the kingdom of God will come.

2) But the kingdom has come. Consider Matthew 12:22-28 (especially, v. 28; the kingdom involves restoration from all the effects of the fall, so here reference is to the powers of darkness, the demons and the evil one).

Thus in Matthew 11:12, Jesus tells us that the kingdom is now advancing itself with power. This has the context of the life of John the Baptist in two ways. First, his question from prison and Jesus answer shows that the kingdom, the gospel feast, has come as demonstrated in the works of the king (11:1-6, "report what you see and hear" about the miracles and the good news). Second, John's ministry shows that the kingdom has come because if you know who he is than you know that he is the last of the OT prophets who paves the way for the time of fulfillment (11:7-13). Who was he? He was a prophet but even more than that. He was the greatest person born. Still the least in the kingdom is greater than he. How can that be? It is because fulfillment is greater than promise (cf. what I said to Dr. Gaffin who taught me these things regarding his promise to read my thesis: I said I understand and appreciate the promise though fulfillment is greater than promise, I thank you for the promise, the consideration). So John brings up to the terminal point of the Law and Prophets and to the coming of the kingdom in fulfillment without entering himself. If you know who he is then you know the kingdom has come.

And via the miracles we know that the kingdom includes the salvation of the whole person, body and soul (the whole material-immaterial you). This is good news, the dead are raised and Jesus Himself has been raised. This means that we have been raised from the dead with Him! That is being worked out now moving toward the not yet. Thus, the gospel is the high point rising above "the dead are raised" because resurrection is taken up in it.

So the appropriate response is not what that generation did. They were fickle like children playing in the street, to the flute they did not dance and to the dirge they did not mourn (11:16-19). These correspond on one hand to the preaching of John of judgment and repentance but they called John a madman (v. 18). On the other hand they correspond to the preaching of Jesus of the feast of kingdom restoration and forgiveness but they called him a glutton and a drunkard (v. 19). What is the appropriate response? It is to seize the kingdom as a prize. (v. 12). He is a friend of tax gathers and sinners! When you see the kingdom as a treasure, you will sell all you have to own it.

2A. So, our king has a feast for us now looking to the not yet

But notice that this feast will find fulfillment: "until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God" (Lk. 22:16). This Passover will continue until that full realization. But Passover has been fulfilled. Yes, it has been transitioned into the new wineskin of communion. All the events and preparations leading up to this Passover were designed to inaugurate the Lord's Table. Communion is a new covenant feast (this is the blood of the covenant; this is the new covenant in my blood). It is a new wineskin form of Passover. So Passover will continue in this new covenant form until consummation.

We thus partake of the kingdom to come now in this feast. This is a commencement on earth of that heavenly feast. We have a taste now of what is coming. We have a foretaste of glory when we come by faith to hear His voice in the sign and seal of the sacraments.

For example, consider the taste of heaven that we have in the language of "with you" and "with me" in this context. He says to you and me (via the disciples), "I desire to eat the new covenant Passover feast with you in the kingdom. I desire it now in communion and by the Spirit and then one day finally in consummation. He longs for you. This is friendship desire in great love beyond our imagination. He longs for you and me, for our company and fellowship.

And additionally this has marvelous promise. He longs for the day when we will be with Him in glory (with me, Jn. 17:24). I like to illustrate the promise here by comparing "with you" and "with me" in the case of my mother when she was dying. Visiting the hospital I could speak with her less and less as the days passed. It became apparent that though I desired to be with her, and went to the hospital and was with her, she was not with me. For her to be with me would mean that she would have to bounce back from her illness and be healthy enough to know and converse with me. Then we could speak again. Then she could probe me with questions and drive me to study the Scriptures. As I have mentioned in the past, it is by her questions to me as a college student that prompted me to go deeper in all that I learned at college. But that was no more; she slipped away and was no longer with me though I was with her.

So what does Jesus promise when He petitions the Father that they be "with me." He promises the fullness of what we now experience; He promises life, consciousness, resurrection, conversation in a wondrous feast of joy and rejoicing in the presence of the Father, in the kingdom beholding His glory.

Such is His love for us as His bride, His people, His new covenant family of redeemed sinners. I especially remember Him as sovereign King and loving Friend who longs to be with us and to have us with Him restored in resurrection glory. Thank you, Father. Thank you for this Savior.

3A. Thus we feast in submission to our prophet, priest and king

What do you now say to these things God has said? There are three things to emphasize, especially oriented to the kingdom theme.

1) First, I need this king who is a priest; this priest who is a king.

Because of my sin that I acknowledge forthrightly, I need the Lord Jesus to subdue me to Himself. I need Him. I need the body and blood pictured in these elements. I need to be nourished at the table of this king. I need Him as I need bread; He is the bread of life. As a prayer, "O Lord Jesus I need you."

2) Second, I own this king as my very own

I appropriate His work to my life. I own Him as my king to live under His authority and by His law. This becomes the prayer: "O Lord Jesus I own you as my very own. Your death is my death and your life is my life. You are my Lord and my God." What you command that I will do.

3) Third, I own the children of this king as my family

There is only one loaf so we being many are one body. He is our king, savior, sovereign God, and our dear elder brother.

So even though it is not always easy to do, though it may be easier said than done, we are to love the Christian family with special preference. We are to have love that is family love, one anothering mutually preferring love, and brotherly love (Rom. 13:10). In other words, we are to pile up love along the pathway of our journey. We are to compound love, heap it up as we make our way on the sure path of the good road as soldiers protected by the armor of light. This begins right here with one another. And it should spill over to all other contexts of life.

Thus, we say in symbol what we ought to say in our hearts and live in our lives: "O Lord Jesus I own your people here and everywhere as my family." Let us so take and eat in remembrance of Him.